By Legal Futures Associate Access Legal [1]
New research has revealed that in the first six months since the return of Stamp Duty to pre-pandemic rates, the property markets in Norwich, Nottingham and Lincoln were the busiest in the UK for sales, putting continued pressure on conveyancers in these locations.
The return of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) to pre-pandemic rates on 1 October 2021 did little to put buyers off. Between then and 31 March this year, £679 million of it was paid by new homeowners. Almost two-thirds of this was in London.
By comparing the number of property sales during this six month period with the number of properties each location across the UK’s 100 largest towns and cities, the data [2] from law technology specialist Access Legal, revealed that conveyancing teams are likely to be busiest in Norwich. This was based on sales during the first six months since the return of pre-pandemic SDLT rates, which had been on pause by the government to help boost the property market.
During this six month period, Norwich had one property transaction for every 52 available, followed closely by Nottingham (52.1) and then Lincoln with 56.2. The ten busiest locations were as follows:
| Location | Number of properties sold (October 2021 – March 2022) | Total number of properties in location | Number of properties in location per sale between October 2021 and March 2022 |
| Norwich | 1,308 | 68,000 | 52.0 |
| Nottingham | 2,733 | 142,510 | 52.1 |
| Lincoln | 828 | 46,500 | 56.2 |
| Bristol | 3,336 | 204,930 | 61.4 |
| Preston | 1,055 | 65,160 | 61.8 |
| Stoke-on-Trent | 1,743 | 118,200 | 67.8 |
| Reading | 1,000 | 74,120 | 74.1 |
| Manchester | 3,202 | 238,800 | 74.6 |
| Newcastle | 1,777 | 135,870 | 76.5 |
| Blackpool | 935 | 72,000 | 77.0 |
The research also found that property buyers in London paid more than £440 million in Stamp Duty during this six month period, with an estimated £679 million generated for the treasury by the 100 locations featured in this research.
The ten towns and cities that generated the most in SDLT were:
| Location | Average property price | Number of properties sold (October 2021 – March 2022) | Average SDLT paid (50/50 split between FTBs and existing owners) | Total SDLT paid by residents (October 2021 – March 2022) |
| London | £722,668.00 | 16928 | £26,133 | £442,379,424 |
| Bristol | £364,656.00 | 3336 | £5,732 | £19,121,952 |
| Reading | £445,967.00 | 1000 | £9,798 | £9,798,000 |
| Cambridge | £491,204.00 | 638 | £12,060 | £7,694,280 |
| St Albans | £624,273.00 | 362 | £21,213 | £7,679,106 |
| Oxford | £579,526.00 | 378 | £18,976 | £7,172,928 |
| Woking | £559,138.00 | 389 | £17,956 | £6,984,884 |
| Brighton | £452,577.00 | 637 | £10,128 | £6,451,536 |
| Slough | £445,073.00 | 601 | £9,753 | £5,861,553 |
| Bath | £539,833.00 | 319 | £16,991 | £5,420,129 |
Commenting on the findings, Mike Connelly, director of conveyancing software provider Legal Bricks [3],
an Access Legal company, said:
“This research suggests that even with the SDLT holiday ending last year, demand for housing in some parts of the UK remains high.
“Many solicitors are still dealing with high volumes of conveyancing work and without the proper tools in place, they’ll end up working long hours, risking burnout and poor client service.
“Those who’re using good conveyancing and case management software software, on the other hand, are able to work more efficiently and not just improve the profitability of every case but drive up client satisfaction too. Our platform can reduce conveyancing transaction times by almost a third, which frees up fee-earners to do more with their day and enjoy a better work-life balance.”
For the full research, visit: https://www.theaccessgroup.com/en-gb/legal/resources/big-movers-the-uk-locations-paying-the-most-on-stamp-duty-since-its-return/ [2]